I’ve had a planner for decades, planners of various shapes and sizes. Pre-printed and pretty, dots, lines, grids, all weights of paper. I’m finally (more or less) settled into a groove which works for where I am now. My planners, yes multiple, hold my life and lives. And, for someone immersed in tech and with…
You know those moments when you have let the words slide from your tongue and wish you could grab them and haul them back inside, push them deep down until they disappear? I had one of those moments yesterday, a moment that shows how far the conditioning goes, a moment where I failed, if only…
On finding rest in a full life. Not as a reward. Simply as yours. I used to arrive at school early to collect the children. Deliberately early. Five minutes, sometimes ten, just sitting in the car. I remember the irritation when another parent knocked on the window. A silence of relief, alone in the car,…
At some point mid-2025 I had a bout of bravery and applied to give a workshop for Research Culture Week at Lancaster University. The workshop I proposed was based on some of my ideas and resources I was creating for my consultancy at the time and was named ‘Stories that Connect: Building Bridges Between Research…
After a good six months intercalation to settle into my new role at a new university I returned to my studies in September 2024. And promptly felt overwhelmed and burned out. Breathe. Work was busy, the commute and being in the office two days a week were exhausting me, I was struggling to focus and…
Transferring from Sociology to Design Research is akin to the change of wading through a claggy marsh and suddenly finding yourself paddling in a swirling river. Yes, it’s still a challenge, but at least progress is easier and quicker. I originally began in sociology as it seemed the better fit, however my supervisors and I…
